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Pinecrest vs Jack Britt Wednesday, September 24th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(4-0-0) |
7
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0 |
(3-1-0) |
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Pinecrest vs Jack Britt Wednesday, September 24th, 2003 John Williams Field, Southern Pines, NC |
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(4-0-0) |
7
|
0 |
(3-1-0) |
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| The Pinecrest boys's soccer team got a big game from its midfield in a 7-0 Mid-Southeastern Conference victory at home against Jack Britt Wednesday night. The Patriots, now 4-0 in the conference and 6-5-2 overall, will try to extend their unbeaten streak in league play to 40 games at Westover Monday night. The Buccaneers dropped to 3-1 and 6-5. Led by Dustin Burns with a goal and an assist and Jonathan Gribben with two assists, the home team produced three goals and five assists out of the midfield. The Patriots employed a 3-5-2 (five midfielders) alignment for one of the few times this season. "One of the reasons I think we were more effective in the midfield tonight is that we played three guys in the middle of the midfield," Pinecrest coach Larry Martin said. "I thought the guys up front and in the midfield were really dynamic. They weren't waiting until they saw something opening up, they were anticipating something might open up. That's the way you've got to play the game. You have to position yourself so that when something happens, you're there." Neil Perez, Mario Stratta and Gribben were the starting inside midfielders. But it was Mike Hinerth, coming off the bench in the 20th minute, who began breaking down the Buc defense with through balls on the ground. The first two led to shots from close range by Perez and Gabe Bruno, one saved by goalkeeper Rick Mateus and the other wide of the goal. Then in the 30th minute, Hinerth broke a scoreless tie with a wide swing of his right leg connecting from 20 yards out after a weak Buc clearance. A year ago, the senior was playing high school soccer in the Lakenheath-Cambridge area of England where his father was stationed in the U.S. Air Force. His team traveled to Germany in playing some of its matches at American bases. Usually a starter, he was asked if entering the game later gave him an extra incentive to play well. "It made me want to do a little better so he (coach Martin) plays me a little bit more," he said. "We were doing pretty well with the one-touch passes. I thought this was one of our better games." Martin has been varying his starting lineup almost every game. "I told the guys before the game, we have more than 11 guys who are deserving and capable of starting," he said. "So don't look at it as a negative if you don't start, because you will start. I think everybody is working hard right now, but you can only put 11 on the field at a time." Five minutes after Hinerth's goal, Gribben received the ball about 40 yards from the goal and slipped a pass between defenders to David Jannone. The Patriot forward collected the ball just outside the penalty box to the left of the goal. With the Buc goalkeeper charging off his line, he deftly directed the ball past him into the far corner of the next for a 2-0 lead. Six minutes into the second half, a cross from the right flank by Joe Johnson made it all the way through to the far post where Burns finished it. The Bucs, who were outshot 22-2 on the night, softened up after that. A Burns' cross and a flick header by Scott Martin at the near post made it 4-0. Ivan Andrade put away another Gribben through ball and the first-half goalkeeper Jonathan Shute made a penalty kick for the fifth and sixth markers. A goal by Travis Grasso off an assist by Caleb Miles completed the scoring in the 78th minute. In addition to extending its unbeaten streak, the Patriots can record their 10th straight league shutout, going back to last year, at Westover. Defender Erik Hayworth says that the four shutouts in the last four matches are giving the team a needed boost in confidence after the team went 2-5-2 during the tough pre-conference phase of the season. "At the beginning of the season, we were getting scored upon by some big-time teams," he said. "There were alot of communication problems in the new defense (flat-back four and three-back) we were trying, and we were a little off on picking up our marks here and there. We were losing some games we should have won. Now we're in the conference and we're getting the hang of it, as you can see." Martin said he used the three-back, flat-back four and sweeper-stopper systems throughout the non-conference schedule. "Even though it was a little painful, we were experimenting in those games to find out what works and what doesn't work," he said. The Pinecrest junior varsity improved to 9-2-1 with a 4-0 victory over Jack Britt. Scoring the goals were Marco Gironda (two), Jordan Hansley and Chris Melone. Gironda and Tommy Ransdell contributed assists. Monday's match at Westover begins at 7 p.m. There is no jayvee match. <-Previous 9-22-03 at Hoke County (W, 3-0) 9-29-03 at Westover (W, 13-0) Next-> |